


Single Save

by suntokki



Category: Undertale
Genre: Gen, angsty fluff I guess, it's gonna be sad near the end, probably all platonic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-29 16:58:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5135471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suntokki/pseuds/suntokki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You weren’t a sad person... But as it goes, your life had never really been ‘happy’... Something was always missing. Something like…<br/>DETERMINATION."</p><p>Following a fateful set of circumstances, you find yourself plummeting down into the Underground- dwelling place of Monsters, the barbarous race driven off the Surface by courageous humans... At least, that's how they taught it in the textbooks. However, you find yourself thinking otherwise as you get to know more and more of these "monsters" in the Underground. But you want to get home, and what happens when these monsters (a certain skeleton in particular) find out you have but a single life? That your life is completely void of the DETERMINATION that marks a human for what it is? What if... you have no will to live? </p><p>Rated Teen & Up for sensitive psychological topics. Reader Insert- No designated romantic interest (as of now).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: The Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is suntokki with my first ever UNDERTALE fanfiction! I fell in love with the game a month ago so I thought why not? I haven't written in ages but this beautiful game has dragged my rusty skills out of the storage. I'll do my best to portray the UT world without completely destroying its almost wistful atmosphere. This is a reader insert, but there won't be any romantic relationships for now (I'm looking at you, skelefans). Well, that could change later on. Bye for now, see you in the next chapter!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The introduction as to how you wound up in your current predicament.

_ephemeral. [ih- **fem** -er-uh l] adj._

_1\. lasting a very short time; short-lived; transitory._

***

You weren’t a sad person. Your life was about as fulfilling as any other young millennial – that is to say, it was always teetering on the thin line of ‘just enough’. But that was fine for you. You weren’t very needy- just the bare minimum was enough for you. No mess, no fuss.

But as it goes, your life had never really been ‘happy’. Naturally, there were ‘happy moments’ and it wasn’t as though you were some Batman who never smiled but… something was always missing. Something like…

DETERMINATION.

***

The sky above you was cloudy. _Looks like it might rain,_ you thought to yourself.

You were on your way to Mt. Ebott. Yes, _the_ Mt. Ebott. On your weekends, you volunteered at a children’s daycare; it’d be an enjoyable task if the kids actually _liked_ you. Unfortunately, a large majority of the kids there didn’t, which was something that didn’t really bother you if it weren’t for incidents like this.

Some particularly cruel kids thought it’d be funny to drop off your bags (that you left at the daycare) some ways up the fabled mountain.  Absolutely hilarious.

Little tykes.

As you neared the base of the mountain, a wispy fog began to form and circle around your heels. The further you ventured into the woods that coated the mountain, the denser the haze seemed to get. Soon, you could only see a couple of feet ahead of you and you cursed the prankster kids in your head. _I’ll quit that volunteer job as soon as I get back,_ you thought to yourself half-heartedly.

You were about a third of the way up the mountain when you felt a small sprinkle on your cheeks. As you looked up into the rapidly darkening sky, it began to rain. Faster than you thought possible, the sprinkles became drops and the drops became bullets. Rain thudded down to the mossy earth and leaves in muffled thumps. You had thought it would only be a short trip to Mt. Ebott, so you barely wore anything more than a worn sweater and jeans. It took mere seconds for you to become soaked to the bone.

It was too late to go back down the mountain- it’d be far too dangerous in the dark and rain. Your phone was in the bag that the little brats ditched on the mountain somewhere. You were in no position to look for it now. The only thing you could do at this point was to find shelter and wait for the storm to subside. Grunting, you trudged through the mucky wet forest floor, avoiding puddles and carefully stepping over exposed roots.

Through the rain, mist, and misery, your eyes fell upon the mouth of a cave. The entrance was draped almost elegantly with vines and the thought of a cool, dry shelter beckoned you. Gathering up what little energy you had left, you scrambled to the cave, sighing with relief.

Once out of the howling winds and freezing torrents of rain, you dried yourself out to the best of your ability (a.k.a. wringing out the bottom of your shirt). Seeing as the storm wouldn’t pass for a while and you had some spare time on your hands, you decided to explore the hollow you found yourself in.

Upon closer inspection, the cave was much deeper than what you first thought. In fact, the (seemingly) furthest part of the cave was so far back, it simply faded away into black. It wasn’t everyday you came across such an intricate cave system and curiosity overwhelmed you in an instant.

You took little shuffling steps deeper into the dark, cautiously watching your feet and sidestepping the several stalagmites. Or was it stalactites? You could never remember.

All of a sudden, you tripped.

“Ack!” You choked out as your foot caught onto something- a root perhaps? It was too dark to see. You expected to collide painfully onto the cold and rocky floor… but the impact didn’t come. Instead, you found yourself hurtling down a massive chasm you had failed to notice due to the dark.

You wildly tried to grasp at the uneven sides of the pit, only to wrench your hands back from the jagged edges- but not before they cut your fingers to ribbons. However, your mind could hardly focus on the pain now- your stomach was drifting dangerously close to your throat and every inch of you felt numb from terror and the cold. _This is it,_ you thought.

In an effort to make your last moments more comfortable, you curled up into as tight a ball as you could in midair and felt hot tears pricking your eyes. _This is the end._

Then, everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure it's stalagmites. You got it right the first time.  
> Also, Reader, please contain your love for cave systems for when you /aren't/ trapped in a rainstorm and soaking wet, thanks. Otherwise, things like this might happen.


	2. Monsters and Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet Toriel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for 500+ hits and 30+ kudos! This is absolutely amazing, especially for just one chapter. Thank you for the wait, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

The first thing you saw when you opened your eyes was darkness. Blinking rapidly, you tried to blink the muddy spots out of your vision and soon, a soft light flooded your surroundings.

It was like a tomb. The place you were in, that is. The hushed atmosphere, the white noise in your ears- they all reminded you of a tomb. Despite the morbid analogy, the place you found yourself in was, no doubt, once majestic. Above you towered great stone pillars that extended so far up the chasm, you could hardly see where they ended. You tried to move around and a soft rustling from beneath you brought your attention to what seemed to be golden flowers. They appear to have broken your fall.

Other than the muted streams of light illuminating the dusty ruins, there weren’t any light sources. Still dazed by your fall and miraculous survival, you remained sitting in the bed of flowers, gazing unfocusedly at the dust particles floating in the streaks of daylight. Far, far above you, you heard the distant thudding of raindrops on earth and stone. _The sunlight down here reflects the rain_ , you thought. The atmosphere was cool and serene. You wanted to stay here forever.

“Snap out of it,” you told yourself, “now’s not the time to relax.” _I need to find a way out._

Repeating the last part in your head, you found the resolve to stand up, dust yourself off, and take a proper look around. Thankfully, you hadn’t landed too weird, so no bones were broken (well, that’s what it seemed to your untrained medical eye). However, you hissed in pain when you shifted some weight onto your left foot and upon closer inspection, you saw that your ankle was swollen and bruised. It was sprained. The sprain didn’t look too serious and it wasn’t that difficult to walk, but you kept pressure off that foot just in case.

Sighing at your predicament, you limped around, looking for an exit. Obviously, you couldn’t go back the way you came- which was up. As you looked around, you saw that there was some sort of path to your right, a trail shrouded in darkness. Seeing as there was no better option, you cautiously headed into the shadows.

It was a relatively short walk. Just a couple minutes in, you went through a doorway at the end of the path and found yourself in a darkened room.  There was a single patch of light on the floor and for some reason, you expected something to pop up out of the ground.

But nobody came.

You moved forward.

*

You were in another room now. An enormous stone chamber with a strange purple tint. Ahead of you were a formation of red leaves and two flights of stairs. The stairs led to the same balcony; a balcony with one doorway lined with vines. Somewhere near that pile of leaves was something… sparkling. You squinted and approached it but you still couldn’t make out what it was. It just seemed like a glimmer, like a glare of light.

You reached out to touch it. However, your fingers grasped at nothing- the spark flickered out, growing dim and finally disappearing.

SAVE FAILED.

You ignored the slightly ominous feeling dawning on you and marched on.

*

The doorway led to yet another purple room, this one smaller than the last. There was a series of buttons on the right of the room, a closed door in the front, and a stone plaque to the left of it.

The plaque read, “Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones. Both walk not the middle road.” You ignored it for now.

 _Well,_ you thought, inspecting the exit, _there isn’t a keyhole or anything._ Seeing as there was no indication of a keyhole or fingerprint scanner (why would something like that be in ruins like this?) or _anything_ at all, you decided to examine the strange buttons.

There were six stone buttons arranged in some pattern on the far right of the room. Right before them was a bright yellow switch, which you failed to notice upon your entrance.

 _This is getting weirder and weirder… Why is there this sort of thing in ruins?_ Nobody _goes up Mt. Ebott anymore…_

You stepped on the buttons, hoping to trigger some sort of reaction from the door. No such luck. Assuming that these buttons would somehow unlock the exit, you couldn’t calculate how many possible combinations there were to this. You’ve never been great at math.

*

It had been at least two hours. The stone buttons just kept resetting themselves when you got the puzzle wrong. _Has no one noticed my disappearance?_

You sunk to the floor, suddenly overwhelmed with dread. _What if no one notices I’m missing? What if they never look? What if I’m stuck down here forever?_ For the second time that day, your eyesight blurred with unshed tears.

_…_

A sudden, loud rumbling made you whip your head up, alarmed. Your eyes snapped to the doorway, which was now grinding open. From the shadows stepped a… goat woman?

“Oh my!” She (?) cried, clutching a clawed hand to her chest.

Too stunned for words, you sprang up, eyes flicking from her strange appearance to the door you had come from. Your mind spun with escape plans; _if I sprint, I might be able to make it out._

“Good heavens, I didn’t think anyone was down here anymore…” the stranger said. “I was just coming down to look after the flowers…”

Looking at her monstrous form, you still failed to find words to say.

Wait… monstrous form?

 _Monstrous_ …

In an instant, years of history textbook passages surged through your head. The Monster-Human War all those years ago… you had thought it was just some strange myth humanity had drilled into the heads of society for God knows what reason… Now you had irrefutable proof that monsters were, indeed, real. There was no other explanation was there? For that horrendous… _thing_ in front of you.

 _“Monsters are a bloodthirsty race… drawn to violence and death… driven away… Humanity’s greater good…”_ The propaganda you had been told your entire life suddenly filled you with terror.

_She’s going to kill me for sure._

“My goodness, listen to me ramble on!” The goat-woman muttered apologetically. “I have completely forgotten my manners. My name is Toriel. I am the caretaker of these Ruins. Are you alright, my child?” Toriel reached for you with her furry hand.

“ _S-Stay away!”_ You screamed, stumbling to the exit behind you. White-hot pain shot up your left leg, forcing you to crumple down onto the stone floor. You hissed, gripping your leg in a fruitless attempt to ease the pain. You had forgotten about your sprained ankle.

Toriel’s face fell in dismay.

“…I see. You have been told such falsehoods about the monsterkind.” She looked at you with gentle eyes. “My child, I implore that you erase those prejudices from your mind. Be at ease, I mean you no harm. I seek only to help you. Do not be afraid.” She smiled kindly.

“It appears as though you’ve injured your leg,” Toriel continued, concern lacing her features, “Let me see what I can do to help.”

She approached you; her soft footsteps overlapped your shuddering gasps of pain. You were too busy gritting your teeth to keep her from touching you. She crouched to your level. You flinched when she delicately placed a hand to your ankle. As you watched, a pleasantly warm light enveloped your sprained ankle and a soothing warmth slowly spread over the injured area. The pain was gone.

“H-How did… Why did you…” You failed to find words. Why had she helped you?

“Phew,” Toriel wiped her brow and smiled tiredly at you. “Healing ankles is such a _sprain_ in the back, wouldn’t you say?”

She frowned, displeased, “I’m sorry, that wasn’t a very good one.”

Despite your predicament, you found yourself laughing. Not just polite giggling, actual, cry-my-eyes-out laughing. It began in small chuckles but in mere moments, you were positively crying with mirth. This hysterical laughter reflected your bizarre circumstances- the confusion when you fell into this strange “wonderland”, the pain from spraining your ankle, the fear of meeting a monster- all those strange feelings melted away as you laughed your heart out.

After a bit, your laughter died down into giggles and occasional hiccups. Toriel looked at you strangely.

“I didn’t think my joke was that funny, but I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

Grinning, you looked her in the eyes properly, “It was absolutely _terrible_. But, you know, whatever floats your _goat_.”

She too burst out laughing, holding her sides. “ _Ha ha ha!_ That’s a good one! Floats your goat… my goodness! Haha!” Her chortling filled the echoing Ruins and made you feel a bit warmer.

Maybe not all monsters are bad.

***

Toriel guided you, step-by-step, through the puzzle-filled Ruins and with each puzzle she led you through, you felt your trust for her increasing more and more. Soon, you reached a cozy home near the end of the Ruins.

The interior of the house had a sort of permanent atmosphere of warmth. It was almost as though Toriel’s fire magic had seeped into every inch of this house. It made this house feel like a home.

When you walked in, Toriel introduced you to “your” room and told you to make yourself comfortable while she made some dinner. _Dinner… it must be late,_ you thought. You had lost track of time in the underground.

More importantly, there was the issue of how to get home. You couldn’t bear to leave this kind goat-lady alone, not after finding out that she lives alone tending to _catacombs_. She had so generously taught you the workings of this world (and its puzzles) and even provided you with your own room (despite your odd feeling the room was meant for a child). It would, without a doubt, break her heart if you left.

With this heavy realization in mind, you slipped into a fretful sleep in a bed much too small for you.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's very difficult to write laughter. I also used blink twice in one sentence. Sue me. It's 12 AM and I'm so tired; please accept this gift. I felt this chapter was a bit rushed, so sorry if it sticks out too much.
> 
> You'll (probably) be meeting Sans next. Just to let you know, this is Post-Neutral(?) ending where Frisk does the right things but decides to stay with everyone in the Underground. The Reader is not Frisk. I'm not really familiar with the game ending names lol.
> 
> Also, please don't be mad at the Reader for being horrified at Toriel! They didn't know any better, especially since they grew up with all that "Monsters are evil" propaganda. 
> 
> Please leave reviews about your thoughts on this chapter- they make my day!


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